BBC Sets Up New Department to Oversee Phone-Based Interactive TV

The BBC--which earlier this year was fined £400,000 by UK communications regulator, Ofcom, for breaches of the UK's Broadcasting Code pertaining to its phone-based participation TV programming (see [itvt] Issue 7.95 Part 1)--has set up a new technical department to oversee all its phone-based interactive TV offerings. The Corporation says that the new department--dubbed the Interactive Technical Advice and Contracts Unit (ITACU)--is part of a comprehensive plan to address the problems that resulted in the Ofcom fine.

According to the BBC, the ITACU team has extensive experience working with broadcasters and in the telecommunications industry, and will work with its TV and radio production teams in order to enable the reintroduction of participation TV services and ensure that those services are compliant with industry regulations. It will oversee the technical and contractual arrangements for telephony services for programs across the BBC, the Corporation says, and has already been working with such shows as "Strictly Come Dancing," "Eurovision," "Last Choir Standing," "Maestro" and "Children in Need." It will be mandatory for all BBC program makers to work with ITACU, which will oversee shows that hold telephony-based donation drives and contestant application lines, as well as shows that offer standard participation TV services such as viewer votes and competitions.

While the new unit will be part of the BBC's Future Media & Technology department, it will be tasked with serving all parts of the BBC. According to the Corporation, it will be the only part of the BBC permitted to engage with third-party telephony service providers, and will manage relationships with those providers on behalf of BBC production teams. "This new unit should be a huge help to BBC production teams who want to exploit the creative possibilities of interactivity in their output," David Jordan, the BBC's director of editorial policy and standards (who helped establish the new unit), said in a prepared statement. "Program makers must use the ITACU to arrange and contract telephony: it is mandatory to do so from today, but it will take a lot of the strain out of the process and ensure it is being done properly."